Nfl Betting Explained
Posted : admin On 4/14/2022- NFL Teasers Betting Explained Although a little more advanced than a normal moneyline or spread bet, NFL Teaser Betting is fairly popular at sportsbooks during the NFL season. Teaser bets account for over 15% of sportsbooks handles for NFL betting, and is continuously becoming more popular.
- Back in the day, there was only one way to bet on the NFL: fixed-odds betting. This is a bet where each team is given specific odds to win, and you pick one side or the other – no point spread.
NFL Betting terminology can sound confusing – just ask any novice bettor who has spent time in a Las Vegas sportsbook or listened to a football talk show on the radio.
Every day, FanDuel Sportsbook has countless betting lines available for a wide variety of sports. There are a variety of ways to bet on most sporting contests, from something as simple as picking who will win (moneyline) to betting on the margin of victory (point spread) or how many points will be scored in a game (over/under).
To the uninitiated, it can sound like the “handicappers” (outcome predictors), “sharps” (pro gamblers) and “touts” (NFL pick sellers) are speaking another language when they talk shop.
The good news is, they aren’t. Understanding NFL wagering terminology is actually quite simple when everything is explained properly. Here is a glossary of some common NFL Wagering terminology to help with your bets this season. For more information, click on the NFL wagering term in question or visit one of our recommended sportsbooks.
NFL terminology
POINT SPREAD
Commonly called ‘the spread’, the point spread is the number of points that the Vegas favorite has to win the game by in order to win the bet. For example, say the Patriots are 4.5 point favorites over the Dolphins – New England has to win the game by 5+ points to pay out, while a wager on Miami pays out with anything better than a 4 point loss. Point spreads are commonly used to even the playing field in sports with high scores, such as American football and basketball.
ATS – AGAINST THE SPREAD
One of the more common terms used by NFL bettors, ATS, or against the spread, refers to a team’s record measured against the spread. Instead of tracking wins and losses, ATS looks at a team’s propensity for covering the spread. For example, last season the Cleveland Browns failed to win a game at 0-16, but finished 4-12 ATS – this means that there were 4 games in which they lost by less than the point spread, and actually paid out for their backers that week.
STRAIGHT-UP
Straight up refers to a fixed price win-loss wager, with no point spread. When betting straight up, bettors get less return for betting on favored teams, but the bet becomes easier to win. A teams straight-up record is simply it’s win-loss record, ripped directly from the standings. Straight-up bets can pay out a lot when underdogs win, but typically are used in “pick-em” games or games with a small point spread.
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OVER AND UNDER
Over and under are signifiers attached to a specific point total, with the purpose being to predict which side the outcome will fall on. A typical over/under wager will consist of bettors predicting whether the combined score of a game exceeds a particular number. For example, if the total is set at 41.5, bettors must decide whether to bet the over (>42 points) or the under (<41 points). Over and under bets can also be applied to a single team point total, a single quarter point total, a player’s individual rushing yardage and so on.
FAVORITE
In NFL wagering terminology, as with other forms of betting, the favorite refers to the expected winner. In the NFL, the favorite is the team that lays points, meaning that they will have to cover a certain amount in order to pay out. For example, if you see Seahawks -3.5, Seattle is a 3.5 point favorite – not only will they have to win their game, but they will have to win by 4+ points. When looking at moneyline odds, the team with the negative number, or greatest negative number, is the favorite.
UNDERDOG
The underdog is the team considered least likely to win – the opponent of the favorite. In NFL wagering, the underdog will be given points, and will be listed with a positive number next to their name. An example of this would be Cowboys +4.5 – this means that the Cowboys pay out as long as they don’t lose by 5 points or more, even if they lose the game. In moneyline bets, underdogs typically have a positive number next to their name (Dallas +145, for example).
NFL HANDICAPPING
NFL handicapping can refer to two similar, yet distinct, practices, both related to predicting outcomes. There are NFL handicappers who are employed by Las Vegas sportsbooks and work as, or with, oddsmakers. In this version of NFL handicapping, advanced models and knowledge are used to predict the outcome of a game, and this information is then used to set the lines/point spread. Outside of Vegas, NFL handicapping is an attempt to predict results, then use the acquired information to find and exploit errors in the Las Vegas lines.
For the novice, the placing of bets can be a confusing area unless properly explained, particularly in the NFL. This article will explain the basics of odds and the types of bets that can be made.
Understanding odds
The first thing to understand is how odds are expressed. These show how much you will win when a bet comes off. In NFL betting, these take the form of a number preceded by a + or a -sign and are based around a $100 unit – although it’s important to realise that the bet can be of any size. So, if the New York Giants are playing the Baltimore Ravens and are favorites to win, the odds might be expressed as -110. This means that you will need to put a bet of $110 on that will win you $100 if the Giants come out on top. On the other hand, the odds on the Ravens, who are the underdogs, winning would be expressed as +220. In this case, your successful $100 bet would win you $220.
The most popular types of bet
Although you might imagine that there’s just one kind of bet, win or lose, you’d be wrong. There are a number of different wagers that you can make on an individual game, player or even the team’s overall success in a season.
Point spread
By far the most commonly placed bet is the point spread, also sometimes called line betting or sides. It’s a bet that tries to predict how many points the winner should win by. Here’s an example of how it works.
Ravens +4.5 -110
Giants -4.5 -110
As we’ve seen, in this game the Giants are the favorites and for bet to be a winning one they will need to beat the Ravens by at least 5 points. At the odds of -110, a $110 bet will return winnings of $100.
But if you bet on the Ravens and they either lose by less than 5 points, or win outright, the bet will be a successful one.
Totals
Nfl Betting Spreads Explained
The second most popular type of bet and the easiest to understand. It’s simply a question of estimating how many points in total will be scored by both sides in a game and betting on whether it will be over or under this amount. As a bet it will be expressed like this.
Giants v Ravens
Over 42.5 -110
Under 42.5 -110
Money Line betting
If you just want to get behind your team and bet on them to win then a money line bet is the one for you. This is typically the sort of bet that many people will be placing on the forthcoming Super Bowl when the teams meet in Tampa on February 7th. So, eyes will be firmly fixed on the Super Bowl odds when the playoffs have produced the finalists. It looks like the favorites will be the Kansas City Chiefs with the Green Bay Packers not far behind. In both cases we could be looking at relatively long odds of -150 or more.
Futures
A number of people may already have had their sights on a Super Bowl appearance for their team and backed this up with a futures wager. Usually made at the start of the season, these look at what might have happened by its end. From winning the division to emerging victorious in the Super Bowl, these can cover many eventualities and are a good way to keep interest going through the season.
Parlays
These are when a number of bets are combined and can add up to some very impressive winnings if they all come off. But here’s the rub – they all have to come off if you’re going to win. This can be frustrating if you get 4 or 5 wins out of a total of 6 bets in a parlay as you end up winning not a cent. But nothing ventured, nothing gained . . .
Props
Props, or propositions to give them their full name, cover a wide range of predictions that you can make. For example, you can bet on whether Patrick Mahomes will become even more of a record-breaker in 2020, even whether the coin toss before a game will come up heads or tails.
Nfl Odds Explained
So, as you can see, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to NFL betting. And the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Then, very soon, you’ll be wondering why it took until 2018 for it to be allowed at all.